


Play nice

by Sylvalum



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers Vol. 8 (2018), Fluff, Ice Cream, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 12:44:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20582714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylvalum/pseuds/Sylvalum
Summary: “You should come with me,” Tony offers, gaining some sort of confidence just by suggesting it out loud.“And do what?” Steve cocks his head.“Anything. Look - I know you hate this party too, let’s go do something.”





	Play nice

**Author's Note:**

> school is making me scream, have some fluff bc i needed it. i'm also trying out 616 characterisation for the first time

The superhero community is big and sprawling and international, and tonight Tony has just really got enough of it, thank you, he’s been schmoozing since six o’clock and his patience has limits. T’Challa will probably even let it slide if he excuses himself now - it’s not like Robbie, Thor or Jennifer are here anymore - so when Tony gets a free moment he beelines for an exit, already untucking his bowtie and thinking about Stark Unlimited business when he runs into Steve, who’s hanging out by himself out of the way of the main gathering, hiding behind a really gigantic flowering bush.

“Cap?” Tony asks, stopping for a moment next to him.

Steve turns to him like he just noticed him and asks, “Oh, are you leaving?”

“Well, I was going to.” Tony eyes the glass in Steve’s hand and feels uneasy. “Are you  _ avoiding _ the guests?”

“Well, I wouldn’t put it like that…” Steve trails off. “Anyway, don’t mind me, I’m sure you’re busy.”

“Not that busy,” Tony replies. “I can spare a minute.”

“No, really, you should go on and leave, if that’s what you were going to do.”

“Mm,” Tony says, frustrated at how they’re really reduced to  _ small talk _ here, yammering on and getting nothing said just like Tony has been doing all evening long with superheroes from countries all over the world; this is  _ Steve, _ this is home, they really could - say more.

“You should come with me,” Tony offers, gaining some sort of confidence just by suggesting it out loud.

“And do what?” Steve cocks his head.

“Anything. Look - I know you hate this party too, let’s go do something.”

Steve visibly considers it. And then he says, “alright,” and puts down his glass of champagne on a park bench, and Tony focuses on Steve’s face, keeps all his attention there until they’ve left the hall. 

Because then Tony’s got another problem on him: where to next? Whatever he planned to do after leaving the party alone has slipped his mind, useless information lost in the void of stress. This is far from the busiest he’s ever been, but existential crises have a way of making your life hell no matter what, and. And where was he? Steve. He’s got some precious alone time with Steve, of course he’ll think of something they can do.

Then he remembers the teleporter.

“We could go out,” he says. “We could go anywhere.”

Steve gets it. “Let’s go,” he says, and then they’re heading up to the teleporter, and for a moment it’s quiet and special how they’re sneaking off together to use the Avengers Mountain teleporter just to get take-out. The kind of ordinary thing Tony can sometimes only dream of, but here they both are, gloriously alive and smiling at each other over the teleporter controls, and right now Tony can’t care about who he is or isn’t. Whatever scraps he’s made up of, AI or not, whoever the fuck he is - at least that person is lucky enough to have this.

He’ll hoard that thought just like he hoards every smile he can remember that Steve’s smiled for him, like stocking up for the winter months. Preparing for the next time that he’ll be crying in the rain and all that’ll get him up will be the thought of Steve and of not giving up.

“Where to?” Tony asks when they get up on the platform.

“New York,” Steve answers, not sheepish in the least, and then there’s the flash of light.

Tony smiles wryly to himself. No place like New York.

They arrive, and they get going. They start walking, and then they start talking about how the rebuilding has gone really well so far, which inevitably leads to talking about the Avengers again, which leads to Steve wanting to talk about future threats and Tony can’t, nope, not now. “Can’t we try  _ not _ to think about work? T’Challa is going to go over all of this tomorrow at the meeting, you know.”

“I know,” Steve says. “That doesn’t mean we  _ can’t _ discuss it now.”

“Steve, please,” Tony says. “We  _ just _ got out of another meeting, can’t we just - oh look, there’s an ice cream stand, let’s have some.”

“Tony,” Steve sighs, but it turns to something like amusement when Tony tugs him along nevertheless. 

There’s no satisfaction like the rush he gets when Steve agrees to do something with him.

When they get there, the vendor either doesn’t recognise them or doesn’t care, and Steve picks vanilla and Tony picks something outrageously colourful and then he pays for both of them. Superheroes eat ice cream too, sometimes. Though this is one of the best occasions for it that Tony can remember.

They walk a bit further, eating their ice cream cones.

Tony tries his best to watch the buildings - because his two other options to focus on are the troubles of tomorrow or Steve, and he really just wants to escape the first one for awhile and the second is dangerous to indulge. He’s been doing this balancing act for years and years, though, and please, he  _ was _ just in a meeting. Please, he’s had a busy week. Please, he doesn’t want to think about tomorrow, or about the list of problems Steve wanted to bring up, or about how there could be a war with Atlantis or a new Starbrand or maybe just a regular end of the world waiting.

His personal life is no better, really, but when isn’t it a dumpster fire?

“So,” Tony says, a new attempt at conversation, as they’re nearing a park. “What have you been up to outside of the Avengers?”

Steve takes an actual bite out of his ice cream to avoid answering, visibly trying to find something to say. Tony already regrets asking.

“Nevermind, let’s just… Eh.” Tony picks the first topic he can think of: “So how are things with Sharon?”

Steve says, “We’re not together.”

_ Oh,  _ Tony thinks. He hadn’t known that. There’s a lot of catching up he and Steve should do, actually, it seems.

“I’m… not with anyone, either,” Tony offers clumsily. Better than a ‘I’m sorry’.

“Been busy?”

“You could say that,” Tony says, exhausted just thinking about it. He tries not to. Steve’s right here, and they’re finally hanging out just the two of them. That’s all he wants to think about tonight. “I’ve been spending a lot of time at Avengers Mountain, too.”

“Yeah,” Steve agrees, and takes a turn into the park, Tony following. “Maybe one should just do like Thor and Jennifer and date someone already working there.”

“Maybe,” Tony agrees, and forcefully doesn’t read anything into that. Maybe Steve just wants to ask Carol out. Oh, god. “Please don’t tell me you’re thinking about Carol.”

“What?” Steve gives Tony a look. “No.”

“Anyone else?” Tony asks, because apparently he can’t leave well enough alone, has to keep picking at it like something good’s gonna come out of it. But still, this careful balancing act - Tony can’t be the only one who’s doing it, can he? At least Steve  _ has _ done it before in the past, Tony is like 67% certain of it, they  _ had _ something there maybe, some time long ago.

That Tony’s still in love after all the wars is just-

“Maybe,” Steve answers, just as vague as Tony had been.

“Okay then,” Tony says, realising he’s not getting anything else out of him. Tony tries to think of something else to say, but then he glances up and notices Steve has a little ice cream on his nose even though their cones have been gone for a minute and really, this is such a cliché, Tony has used this exact opening before with two different ladies in the past, but this is  _ Steve, _ and it’s a one in a million opportunity, and then Tony doesn’t even think anymore. “Oh,” his mouth says, and then he reaches up and carefully swipes the ice cream away with a finger, the panic setting in almost before he realises he’s got a hand on Steve’s  _ face. _

He makes to withdraw but Steve is quicker and catches his hand, and Tony hopes he can’t feel how fast Tony’s pulse is going through his wrist.

“You had a little,” Tony forces himself to say, looking just a little to the left of where Steve’s eyes are staring at him, waving at his own face with his free hand. “Ice cream. On your face.”

“Oh,” Steve says. “Thanks.” and he lets go off Tony’s hand, and Tony - doesn’t withdraw it.

Steve doesn’t comment, just keeps being there and breathing and a second or more passes and Tony convinces himself to finally look Steve in the eye, and his eyes are so very blue and damning like always, Tony can’t look away but he doesn’t know how to bear that gaze either. He wants to.

“Tony,” Steve starts-

“Can I-” Tony starts, a second after, regretting the words immediately, wishing he was in his armour so he could just take off into the skies and deal with the fallout tomorrow-

And Steve’s closing his eyes, leaning in and tilting his head, and oh, this is how it feels to be kissed by him. 

It’s just like any other kiss except for how every second of it Tony realises, all over again, that he’s doing this with  _ Steve, _ and then his heart trips up and it’s too much, not enough, definitely something they’ll have to have a long, long talk about in the future. A long talk, and they better get it over with before they have to go to war with the Winter Guard or something equally disastrous.

If Steve wants to. God, if Steve wants too.

The uncertainty is enough to make Tony break the kiss, and then he’s paralysed anyway, because Steve’s radiant and so beautiful and right here, right  _ here; _ Steve snuck out of Avengers Mountain to get ice cream just because Tony asked. It’s thrilling and terrifying and Tony can’t fuck this up, he can’t fuck this up, he needs to- “Steve,” he says, and clears his dry throat and reminds himself that this is definitely real; in no dream of his would he ever be stuck talking to superhero delegates from all over the world for  _ two hours _ before getting some action. And Steve, he’s - he’s here, he’s got a hand on the back of Tony’s neck which is severely limiting his ability to think but he has to, c’mon- “This means something, right? This is - you do want to-”

He can’t say it lest he jinx himself; he’s longed for this for 15 years.

“I’d like to - do this again,” Steve says. The fact that he sounds _ uncertain  _ is making Tony feel things. “If you want to... If you want to, I’d like to take you out on a date. Just like this. If you want to.”

_ Look, _ Tony tells the part of himself that’s started screaming. Thor and Jennifer can manage it, dating in the team.

And Tony with Steve at his side? They are  _ unstoppable. _

This is something they can do, if Steve wants to, if he wants to-

“I’d love to, yes, please, let’s do it,” Tony says. “Oh. Wait. Was this what you meant with the ‘date someone on the team’-”

“Maybe,” Steve says vaguely, but he’s smiling, and he’s drawing circles with his thumb on Tony’s cheek and leaping into danger is what they  _ do, _ the two of them, together. Tony didn’t just imagine it, all those many glances and small gestures over the years, didn’t just build a castle out of clouds, it’s happening right now. And if he’s not the original Tony Stark - a concern which seems laughable when standing in Steve’s light - then hey, at least he’s got this. 

At least he’s got Steve warm and fond and smiling by his side, and how many Tony Starks can claim that?


End file.
